


Gays into the Iris

by robogays



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7610605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robogays/pseuds/robogays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Genji is having to handle a balancing act: the impending reunification of Overwatch, reconciling with his brother, and coming to terms with his feelings for his mentor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The orange of the sunset glows on the temple warmly as it wanes, slowly. A faint, cool breeze blows through, gently caressing those who are caught in it as if they were its lover. Colorful tapestry hanging from the stone walls softly fluttered. From an otherwise empty balcony, Genji sits cross legged, thinking to himself while taking in the sights. He knows that he will be seeing it again temporarily, so he appreciates the time that he can spend doing so.

He’s making sure to savor these allotted times of peace as of late. Weeks ago, he got the same recall message that many people have. He left Overwatch sometime before it crumbled; his decision on what his response should be has still been undecided. He has much to think about, but his mind has been cluttered with more personal things; too cluttered for him to properly meditate.

First of all, his brother. The message caught him in the middle of his own personal mission, and he didn’t let the weight of it stop him. Once he figured out his habit, getting to him was easy. Getting him to stop trying to bury an arrow through Genji’s skull was somewhat tougher. Hardest of all was getting him to willingly (and civilly) interacting with him after. Genji left him alone for some time after that. 

When he thought the time was right, or as right as it was ever going to get, he started by meeting him in a ramen shop. Genji thought that it was one that they went to before, but he wasn’t sure. If it was, maybe it’d help. Might as well start somewhere public and with less of the threat of anger induced arrows flying. Both of them had the idea of dressing as what they thought were inconspicuous, and they just started talking. Minor things of what has been going on with their lives. Hanzo still clearly didn’t trust Genji, but it was a start. 

Genji offered him to come over to the monastery, partially for the peacefulness of it, but mostly for the moral support of his mentor. It was why the two of them were back at the temple for now: awaiting his arrival.

He could guess what he felt, and could only feel it more when he continued to reach out to him. He wasn’t sure what was worse; the self loathing that Hanzo couldn’t shake, or how he still believed that his brother was still dead. Genji knew exactly what he meant by that, and it hit him hard. What good was all of this peace that he sought after if one person can so easily shake it?

Genji sighs and stands, not really feeling meditation at the moment. It was almost dark, anyway. As he walked back inside, he can smell a familiar scent. Incense. Lavender, to be exact. As always, it was his mentor’s doing. He never can pin whether or not Zenyatta burned it because Genji was found of the scent, or for the atmosphere of peace that incense usually brought. Probably both. 

Genji had only respect and admiration for his mentor. Even with everything unfolding around him, he was glad that he had the company of the pillar that was Tekhartha Zenyatta. 

He follows the scent, knowing that it would be him at the source. He wonders if his mentor was as anxious as he was about Hanzo coming; the better question would be, “does he ever get anxious”? He never looked like it.

As he expects, when Genji walks into the room where the scent was the strongest, he finds Zenyatta floating, hands clasped. Quickly he notices Genji’s presence, giving him a short wave and coming back to his feet to stand. “Greetings. How was your meditation?” 

Genji was reluctant to give an honest answer. He still pained over his interaction with his brother, and over the inevitable decision on what to do with the recall. All he knew was that he was going to prioritize his family first. “Fine, I suppose. It cleared my head a bit.” 

He already knew that he was caught when Zenyatta approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He can tell by the tone in Genji’s voice that he was still bothered. “Many things are weighing upon your mind.” 

Genji looked into his eye slits. His lack of human shaped eyes used to creep Genji out. Now, he finds it endearing. There was just something about their slant that made him look… Calm. Focused. Genji swallowed nervously, flushing a little under his visor. It felt weird thinking about his mentor like that. “Of course they do. I can’t flush out everything when it’s coming at me all at once.” He felt the urge to put his hand over Zenyatta’s, but resisted. 

“You are handling it as best as you can. Just remember; everything will turn out for the better in the near future.” Zenyatta pats his shoulder before dropping his hand.

Genji is a little disappointed that he misses his opportunity to do so, but he doesn’t think that he would’ve been brave enough to. “It’s still a burden to think about now. So much can go wrong with this. He may never accept any of this.”

Zenyatta shakes his head. “The fact that he agreed to come here for you is only a sign that he is willing to change. You both wish to come together. All that is left is for the pieces to all fall naturally into place.”

He sighs, a little reluctant to admit that he was right. Naturally, he has a way with words. “I understand. Thank you.” His words help, but thinking about it even more only makes him feel more weary. He looks through the window. It’s pitch black out there, and the incense is starting to fade. “It’s getting late. We should probably prepare to rest. See you in the morning?”

He nods back. “Of course. Rest well, my student.” He turns, tending to cleaning up what he was burning before likely getting ready to charge. 

As he’s leaving, Genji can’t help but notice as he has before how despite Zenyatta spending a good portion of his time floating, he is still taller than Genji when he stands, even if it is a few inches. He isn’t quite sure on how to feel about that. It’s weighing on him less than all else that goes on, but it’s been there for much longer, nagging at him for not addressing it. Genji has grown a fondness for his mentor, but he isn’t sure if what he feels anymore is… proper. 

Sometimes he wishes that when Zenyatta places his hand on him in reassurance, he would have the bravery to take it and hold it in his own. Sometimes, he wishes that they would share an embrace, bodies pressed together warmly, tenderly. Sometimes, he wishes that he could show Zenyatta how much he meant to him; how much he appreciate his kind act, his thoughtful words, his positive influence. He isn’t sure what he’s so… Scared of. The chance that Zenyatta doesn’t feel the same for him? The chance that it would ruin something good that they already have?

Genji goes into his room and closes the door. He deactivates his visor, pulling it off and rubbing his tired eyes. Too many things are nagging him at once. He takes a deep breath of the remaining lavender aroma in the air, and lays down. 

He dreams of being lost in a never ending field of white flowers. Somewhere in the distance, he sees an old friend. Before he can reach her, she spreads a pair of golden wings, dashing off into the sky and out of his reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm absolutely terrible at naming things so you're welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Genji wakes up to the sun in his eyes and the sound of a kettle boiling in the distance. He grumbles some and blinks a few times as he fights to gain the alertness to finally drag himself out of bed. He stretches his limbs to make sure they’re all out of sleep mode and puts back on the visor. The screech of the kettle is probably Zenyatta: despite the fact that he can’t drink it himself, he makes it every morning for Genji to wake up with. If Zenyatta wasn’t an omnic, he’d have a hard time believing that he can just be so alert and productive at this hour. Genji follows to sound to what he expected; Zenyatta preparing the tea for him, humming some short tune.

“Good morning, Genji. I am almost finished.” He adds a few sugar cubes and just a bit of honey to make it sweet, as Genji likes it. “Here you go.”

He takes the mug. Thankfully, his robot hands make him resistant to the diabolical heat of freshly made tea. “What kind is it today?” He wants to grumble again, but it’s hard to be grumpy in the morning with Zenyatta around. It’s like being a morning person is infectious. Gross. 

“Chamomile. Go now, drink it before it cools.” 

Genji gives a short thank you and grabs a muffin from the counter. It was warm, as if freshly made, but Genji knows that Zenyatta probably just heated it up for him. He goes back to his room, setting it down as he takes his visor off again. Genji typically ate and drank what he needed alone. He’s uncomfortable showing others what little human flesh he had left of him, even to Zenyatta. He only did it for Hanzo to prove to him that he was really his brother. 

Hanzo… Their meeting here would be soon. The thought of it puts a lump in the back of his throat, which he tries to quell by sipping on the tea. He goes into the bathroom and washes his face, then tries to make sure that he’s calm. After some time, he hears someone knocking on his door and clicks his visor back into place, opening it. 

Zenyatta is standing there, serene as ever despite his news. “Your brother has arrived. Shall you bring him in?” Maybe he should have saved some of that tea, because the lump in his throat is back. Instead, he just nods and goes. 

He finds Hanzo waiting for him in the main temple area, bag of what’s probably clothes at his side and his bow on his back. Genji purses his lips. Of course he brought that thing. When Hanzo sees him, he frowns slightly, not really giving him the best of signals. “There you are.”

“Right. Here I am.” There’s an awkward pause. “We should go sit. Follow me.” Genji walks to a sitting room, gesturing towards a chair before sitting down himself. He was trying to be polite; painfully and awkwardly so. They look away from each other for a bit. He knew it would still be a while before they will interact normally. 

Finally, Genji broke the silence. “Is there anything that you’d like to ask about me?” Their previous talks were primarily about Hanzo still denying that he was his brother, and getting him to come here was really the most that he’s done so far. 

Hanzo bounces his leg some before he realizes that he’s doing so, stopping himself. “How did you survive it. What I did.” He avoids directly mentioning it. 

Genji can hear the kettle running again in the distance. Zenyatta’s presence was welcome, as this was already in uncomfortable territory. “I survived long enough to be rescued. All set up by an inside source for an… Organization that was trying to combat our clan.”

Hanzo looked down and grimaced at the table that was between them. “I see.” He looks back up to Genji. “What was that group?” 

Genji considers lying, but quickly ruled that out as pointless. “Overwatch.”

Hanzo leans back into his chair again, placing a leg over the other’s knee. Genji can’t tell whether or not his lower legs were robotic. It might just be some kind of fancy footwear, or armor of sorts. “And you were involved in the inevitable dismantling of our clan into the fraction of what it is today?” All that remains of it was a distant family member maintaining the household, along with the (pitiful) bodyguards that were there to protect it. Hanzo isn’t sure if there were plans of attempting to build up its power again. He also isn’t sure if he really cared. They were no longer his family. 

“Yes. I knew of your leaving immediately after my… “Death”. I also knew of your pattern of sneaking in to return so often.” He purposefully leaves the implications of Hanzo’s return vague. He’s trying to weigh his words carefully here. “I made sure that you were left alone by other members during those points.”

Hanzo quirks an eyebrow. “If you knew of it for so long, then how come you never confronted with me until now?” Hanzo feels a range of things. Annoyance that despite being careful while infiltrating, his pattern was still found and noticeable. Bitterness of having to go through this now, instead of years of believing that he murdered his brother. Guilt of Genji being aware that he meditated in solace for his brother. He bites his lip.

“Many reasons. How it could interfere with the mission at hand, the chance that you could interfere with Overwatch. The chance that Overwatch could take action on you.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “The lack of purpose I had only became more apparent after the mission was over. It’s only now that I’ve been confident that I could confront you and genuinely hold no grudge against you.” 

Hanzo doesn’t respond right away after that. It’s a lot to process for him, and he can’t really be directly bitter at Genji for the circumstances or the time it took.

The first one to speak is Genji again. “Do you believe me?” He says this tentatively, thinking that this can blow up in his face at any moment.

Hanzo struggles to look at him directly, but he makes himself do it. “I can’t deny it any longer. I have seen your face. I have heard your… Voice.” He pauses when he says that, considering that while Genji’s voice was his, it had a much more metallic tinge to it. “I have explanations for many things that have happened in the past. Why the clan fell and why I met no interference during my routine. Why…” His voice chokes a bit. “They never found a body that night.” He takes a breath. “My brother never died, and he’s sitting in front of me right now.” 

Genji tears up a bit under the visor, mostly out of relief. He gets ready to get up to hug Hanzo, but Hanzo shakes his head. “No. Not now. Not yet.” 

Genji nods slowly and lowers back down. “Do you have anything else that you want to ask?”

He thinks for a moment, but only a moment. There’s been a burning question in his mind. “Why do you look like… This.” He gestures vaguely towards Genji. 

He saw this coming. “After I was saved, many measures had to be taken to ensure that I would be able to survive and function. I was rebuilt in exchange for assisting them.”

Hanzo frowns. “Rebuilt, as in?”

“As in, most of me except for what you have seen is robotic.” 

Hanzo squints at him and leans back, crossing his arms. “Show me.”

Genji pauses for a moment and sighs. He thought that he didn’t have anymore proving to do after the first time he showed him. Guess not. He with a puff of steam, he deactivates the visor, pulling it off and turning it off fully. He takes off the plate on his forehead and peels back the rubber material on top of his head, showing his head fully and without obstruction. His lower jaw and neck were clearly robotic, along with the antenna shaped sensors where his ears used to be, but everything above that seemed to be fleshy and human, albeit heavily scarred. Even his hair was still the same light green that it was before.

Hanzo simply stares at him for a few painfully long seconds, hand covering his mouth, before he finally says something. “Your hair looks as stupid as ever.” 

It takes a moment for it to sink in for Genji and he cracks a smile, laughing some. “No it’s not. What would you know.” At least the ice has been broken somewhat. 

Hanzo chuckles, but it fades away. He leans over, touching Genji’s chest. It was warm, yeah, but any heartbeat was replaced by a soft, mechanical whirr. He sighs and leans back. “So this… Is how you are now.”

Genji nods. “Yes. It’s who I am.” 

Hanzo goes quiet for a bit again, but this time the silence is broken by Zenyatta coming in with a couple more cups of tea. “Greetings. I thought you two would like to have some tea. I hope I am not interrupting anything.” 

Genji remembers that his visor was off and feels a pang of discomfort as Zenyatta looks over him. He avoids his gaze and takes the tea. Hanzo give a cautionary thank you and waits til he leaves. “I think I should unpack. Where will I be staying?”

Genji gestures towards the door. “Right across the hall is an empty guest room.” 

Hanzo gulps down the remainder of his tea and picks up his things. “I’ll talk to you later.” He gets up, and leave the room.

Genji sighs, opting to sit there for a bit, taking his time to sip the tea before putting back on his visor. He decides that he’ll talk to Zenyatta about how it went later. For now, he will just relax.


	3. Chapter 3

Genji knocks on the door to Zenyatta’s room. As he expects, a “come on in” comes from inside, and he enters. 

Zenyatta is coming down from floating, likely meditating while staring out the window. He turns to Genji. “I assume that it went well?”

He rubs his arm and nods slowly. “For the most part. I think I got through to him. I think he just needs space right now.”

He places a hand on Genji’s shoulder. “Of course. I’m glad that you’re approaching this slowly and calmly. How are you feeling?”

Genji thinks for a moment, and gently places his hand over Zenyatta’s. He doesn’t move his hand off of his shoulder at that, which he’s slightly relieved about. “Enough about me. How about you?” He pauses. “Have there been any issues with the other monks about our temporary return?”

“Not… Particularly.” Zenyatta pauses himself now. “There is no animosity over our departure. However, there is bitterness over us not being here to grieve for…”

Genji squeezes his hand. “Right. But otherwise, everything’s alright?”

He laughs at that. “Genji, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m here to help you, not the other way around.”

Genji flushes under his visor. “Well, if you need any help, I hope you always know that I’m here.” 

Zenyatta leans forwards and hugs him. “Of course. Thank you, my student.” 

Genji lets it linger for a little too long, then pulls away awkwardly. “So you saw me without my visor?” He rubs his arm awkwardly. 

“Yes. I know that it is a rare occurrence. You are not off put by that, correct? ” 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“If that is the case, may I see it again?”

Genji stops himself from sputtering. “U-uh… If you insist…” When he receives a nod of assurance, he begins to take off his helmet once again. Previously, his hair was only held within a tidy bun to keep it all in check when he wore his helmet, but for Zenyatta, he decided to loosen it, letting it fall into a ponytail. He hasn’t gotten it cut in a while. 

Zenyatta looked over him. He reached over and gently held Genji’s chin, robotic fingers softly feeling his robotic chin. “You look wonderful.”

He was already flushing, but that really wasn’t helping his case now. He swallows and nods. Zenyatta admired him for another moment. Slowly, he leaned down, and… Tapped his metal face against Genji’s. Genji was a little confused. “What was that for?”

He responds with a laugh. It was lighthearted, and airy. It was an infatuating sort of chuckle. “Am I really the one who needs to explain?” His finger brushed against Genji’s rubber bottom lip and fleshy upper lip. “I suppose it is hard to get flirting across when I lack the tools to properly romance someone.” 

Genji had to take it in for a second. “You feel that way for me?” He provides no protest to Zenyatta’s fingers. 

Zenyatta laughs again. “Are you really surprised?” He wraps his arms around Genji’s waist. 

Genji puffs and does the same back. “Not… Really. I was afraid that you wouldn’t.” This felt right. As if all of his anxieties of the prospect of this were now just melting away, into something more whole. “Let me help with your flirting.” He leans up and plants a kiss right onto Zenyatta’s face. 

They let the moment last. The intimacy, the relief of showing their inner feelings and sharing them. It takes a bit, but finally, Genji speaks up again. “You know… We can easily skip meditation for the night.” He leads the two of them to the bed with no protest, tugging Zenyatta on top of him. He gently kisses his neck, aiming to get more of those heartwarming laughs out of him. It succeeds. 

“Alright, if you insist.” He runs a hand through Genji’s hair. For the first time in a while, the edge was taken off of everything, and Genji was able to enjoy the harmony that they shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha whoops I swear I didn't forget about this thing I've just been completely busy with college and decided "yknow what I'm not going to be motivated with this unless I get right into the good stuff" so there you go.
> 
> Edit: I think I've decided to move on from this. It was basically my shot at a slow burn fic and it isn't to my taste, honestly. Genyatta is still good though. Thanks to yall who enjoyed this.


End file.
